


Obligatory Christmas Fic

by galaxystarheart



Category: Papillon (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21990286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxystarheart/pseuds/galaxystarheart
Summary: Papi and Dega reconnect with traditions from before prison- or, Papi's traditions at least. Essentially, theyre gay and it's almost Christmas. I wrote this as a Christmas gift for my friend Kat!
Relationships: Henri "Papillon" Charriere/Louis Dega
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Obligatory Christmas Fic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cinderscream](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinderscream/gifts).



> Sorry this isn't the best, I tried!

In French Guiana, holidays ceased to exist. Despite the continued existence of religion, men praying day in and day out for a way to escape that godforsaken prison, the purpose of celebration was lost to the horrors of day to day life, the constant work, the pain, and the sun beating down on all of their backs. The loss of any joy or ability to tell time certainly didn’t help. 

They were never given any extra rations or days off for holidays, and the weather didn’t exactly indicate the seasons aside from stormy season and summer. That being said, no one ever knew when a holiday was unless they overheard a guard or two talking about it, and even then it wasn’t information worthy of remembering or spreading around. Whether they knew about the days or not, there was nothing to be cheerful about. No way to celebrate it. No ounce of happiness left beneath the endless weight of fatigue and the will to survive and the hope of one day being free.

So yes, it had been a very long time since Louis Dega or Henri Charriere had the chance to celebrate much of anything. Between the escape plans, the solitary confinement, and the desperation to make it out alive... they didn’t even spare a thought to it. As neither were anywhere close to devoutly religious anyway, it wasn’t such a great loss.

They hardly remembered a thing about holidays until they found themselves free men, having leaped into the sea hand in hand with hopes of finding a life together. They managed to get themselves set up in a little house a decent distance from the shore they washed up on -not without thanks to Papi's skill of thievery, as they had nothing at all when they arrived, or Dega's talent for forgery, as they had no documents until he made them. After that, though, the two decided they wanted to be honest men. They decided they didn't want to live their new life with the threat of being caught over their heads. They didn’t want to have to worry about having to be dragged kicking and screaming back to the hell they’d escaped at last. 

Because of their decision to- for the most part- swear off crime, Papi decided to get a job as a cook at a local restaurant. They needed income, after all, to fix up their little shack of a house and to keep themselves afloat without needing to take from others. Dega, on the other hand, took a job as a librarian, selling art on the side for a bit of extra income. It was strange for the both of them to find themselves with jobs that didn’t leave them in constant crushing pain. It was odd to be able to relax, and to be happy, and to genuinely enjoy day to day life- not to mention the ability to come home afterward to the one they truly love.

Over time they grew more accustomed to the general simplicity of their new lives. They fell into a routine- a comfortable one- and allowed themselves to begin properly enjoying what they had. They rediscovered an ability long-lost to each of them, seeing beauty in the world in place of pain and fear and ugliness, allowing themselves to sit back and take it all in. With love came freedom, with freedom came time, with time came relaxation, and with relaxation came true happiness at last. 

Wrapped up in each other, learning to love properly, completely, like they never had before, and coming home to a true home… They discovered that they had much to be happy about. So, so much. They were happy to be free, happy to be together, happy to have the chance to live the lives they've always wanted. With this and the return of the measurable passage of time, they began to remember what celebration was for. After all, they finally had something worth celebrating, and now they were able to celebrate it together. 

One day, after listening to the general chatter of people at the restaurant for hours, Papi couldn't quite get a certain subject off of his mind. He decided a while after he came home that he should ask Dega if he'd heard the same things, so as the two of them were cooking dinner together, side by side in the small, cute little kitchen they'd both learned to love, he filled a slight lull in conversation with, "Did you know Christmas is coming up?"

Dega glanced up at him, a curious look in his ever-shining eyes. "I certainly did," he answered, nodding at the new calendar he'd put up on the wall just that day. "It's in two weeks, why do you ask?"

"I don't know," Papi told him, thinking back to years past, when he was a kid opening gifts, so full of joy, and then to French Guiana, where he didn't spare a thought to Christmas at all. "It's just… weird to think about. It used to be one of my favorite holidays, and after everything I nearly forgot it even existed."

Dega chuckled, tiptoeing to give him a soft kiss before heading to the other side of the kitchen to retrieve something. "You're right, I haven't thought about it in years either. Then again, your experiences with it are probably far better than mine." He told Papi about his abusive parents ages ago, so this didn't come as a surprise. "I always liked the decorations, though. Walking through the city, seeing the wreaths and garlands and beautiful lights… that was probably the best part of it. I wonder if they decorate like that here."

"We could," Papi told him, glancing over with a smile.

Dega raised an eyebrow, unsure of his meaning. "We could what?"

"You know… decorate? Get gifts for each other? It would be fun!"

"Oh." Dega hadn't even considered that as an option, and for a moment he looked puzzled at the suggestion. In the past his parents hadn't ever decorated or allowed him to do so- the one time he tried he was slapped, and he never tried again. When he got his own home he didn't even think of it. "I mean… I've never… My family only celebrated Christmas with awful social events and church services that I hated."

"It's never too late to start," Papi told him. "You can finally have a real Christmas. I mean- it doesn't get cold here, but still."

Dega pretended to shiver, hunching his shoulders and crossing his arms. "I always hated the cold."

Always one to take advantage of an opportunity like this, Papi wasted no time in wrapping his arms around his love, holding him close. "It's alright, if it was cold I'd keep you warm."

Sighing, Dega rested his head on Papi's shoulder, tucking his face into his neck. "Maybe..." he said, his breath ghosting across Papi's skin and nearly making him shiver instead. "Maybe you're right, it would be fun to actually celebrate. We're not getting a tree, though- I'm not cleaning up the needles."

Papi laughed. "That's fine with me, I don't want to have to carry it in. Garlands and lights are plenty for me- and maybe we could get you some poinsettias too."

"I love you," Dega said, leaning back to look at him with a soft smile on his face.

"I love you too, Louis," Papi responded, leaning down to kiss him. "I can't wait to spend Christmas with you."

**Author's Note:**

> Hopefully I'll have a better, much longer papidega fic out by the end of 2020 so get ready for that! I know this ao3 tag is dead so i gotta make it live. (Edit: i LIED)


End file.
